AP Psychology Units 1 & 2

Empiricism

the view that experimentation is the most important; the way people evaluate truth claims

Structuralism

structure of mind with introspection

Introspection

looking inward at thoughts and feelings (proved unreliable)

Functionalism

how mental processes help us adapt, survive, and flourish

Experimental Psychology

the scientific study of behavior, motives, or cognition in controlled environments to predict, influence or explain behavior or other psychological factors

Cognitive Neuroscience

the study of how the brain’s nerves and systems make thinking and mental processes happen

Psychology

the science of behavioral and mental processes

Natural Selection

Natural selection is when better-adapted organisms survive and reproduce, changing the population over time

Approach: biopsychosocial

looking at mental health by combining three factors—biology (the body and brain), psychology (thoughts and feelings), and social influences (relationships and environment)

Approach: behavioral

how we learn observable responses

Approach: biological

how the body and brain enable emotions, memories, and sensory experiments - how genes combine with environment to influence individual decisions

Approach: cognitive

key word “interpret” - how we encode, process, store, and retrieve infornmation

Approach: evolutionary

how the natural selection of traits has promoted the survival of genes

Approach: humanistic

how we meet our needs for love and acceptance and achieve self fulfillment

Approach: psychodynamic

how behavior springs from unconcious drives and conflicts

Approach: socio-cultural

how behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures

Psychometrics

the branch of psychology that measures mental abilities, behaviors, and performance using tests and questionnaires

Developmental Psychology

the study of how people grow and change—physically, mentally, and socially—from birth to old age, and the factors that shape that development

Educational Psychology

the study of how people learn and how to apply psychology to teaching, learning, and solving problems in schools

Personality Psychology

the study of what makes each person unique, including their traits, behaviors, emotions, and how personality develops or sometimes leads to disorders

Social Psychology

the study of how people’s thoughts, feelings, and actions are influenced by other people, whether they are present, imagined, or represented

Industrial - Organizational Psychology

he study of people at work. It looks at how to improve hiring, training, job performance, teamwork, leadership, and overall employee well-being

human factors psychology

a branch of psychology that studies the role of human factors in operating systems, with the aim of redesigning environments, equipment, and processes to fit human abilities and characteristics

forensic psychology

the use of psychology in legal settings, like helping with criminal cases, giving expert testimony, understanding offenders, and studying things like eyewitness memory and investigations

health psychology

the study of how behavior, thoughts, and the environment affect health, and how psychological and biological knowledge can help prevent and treat illness

neuropsychology

the study of how the nervous system and brain affect thinking, behavior, and cognition, including how brain damage impacts these functions

rehabilitation psychology

the use of psychology to help people with disabilities or chronic health conditions improve their physical, mental, and social functioning throughout life

school psychology

the study and support of students’ learning and mental health in schools, including testing, counseling, behavior support, and helping teachers and parents

sport psychology

the use of psychology to help athletes improve performance, motivation, and mental well-being in sports

positive psychology

the study of what makes life meaningful and fulfilling, focusing on happiness, personal strengths, and positive social connections

counseling psychology

the branch of psychology that helps people improve their well-being, cope with challenges, and adjust to life changes across their lifespan, focusing on strengths and personal growth

clinical psychology

the branch of psychology that studies, diagnoses, and treats emotional and behavioral disorders to help people improve their mental health

psychiatry

the medical field that studies, diagnoses, and treats mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders, often focusing on biological causes

community psychology

the study of how people interact with their communities and social systems, focusing on improving social welfare, mental health, and preventing problems like poverty, violence, and substance abuse

nature-nurture issue

the debate about whether a person’s traits, behavior, and abilities come more from genes and biology (nature) or from life experiences and environment (nurture)

hindsight bias

believing after the fact that the outcome was obvious

critical thinking

careful, goal-focused thinking where a person checks ideas or solutions for mistakes or weaknesses

qualitative research

information that isn’t expressed numerically

quantitative research

information expressed numerically

theory

a well-supported explanation based on evidence that can help predict and understand new observations

hypothesis

prediction (if then statement)

falsifiability

a hypothesis that can be tested and potentially proven wrong through observation or experimentation

operational definition

defining a concept by the specific actions or measurements used to observe or test it

replication

repeating a study or experiment to see if the same results are obtained

case study

cause and effect (experimental)

naturalistic observation

collecting data by watching and recording behavior in people’s or animals’ natural environment, without interfering or controlling anything

meta-analysis

method that combines the results of many studies on the same topic to get an overall conclusion about the effect or relationship being studied

survey

a study that collects information or opinions from a group of people, usually through questionnaires or interviews, to learn about a larger population

likert scales

a rating scale that measures attitudes by asking people to show how strongly they agree or disagree with a statement, usually on a 5-point scale

wording effects

changes in survey responses caused by the way a question is phrased

sampling bias

an error that happens when a study’s participants don’t represent the larger population, which can make the results unreliable

social desirability bias

when people give answers that make them look good or match social norms instead of their true thoughts or behaviors

self-report bias

the problem that people’s answers about their own thoughts, feelings, or behaviors may be inaccurate or misleading

population (N)

the entire group of people or organisms being studied, from which researchers may take a sample to draw conclusions

sample (n)

a smaller group taken from a population to study, which should represent the larger group accurately

random sample

hoosing participants from a population so that everyone has an equal chance of being selected, which helps make the results more accurate and generalizable

Representative sample

a group of participants that accurately reflects the larger population being studied

conveincance sampling

choosing participants who are easiest to reach, but the results may not represent the larger population

Generalizability 

how well the results of a study apply to people or situations outside the original sample

Correlation

a measure of how strongly two variables are related to each other

Correlation coefficient (r)

a number that shows how strongly two variables are related - closer to 0 = weaker; further from 0 = stronger ( -1 = perfect negative relationship and +1 = perfect positive relationship)

Scatterplot

a graph that shows the relationship between two variables, with each point representing a pair of values. Patterns in the points reveal positive, negative, or no relationships

Directionality problem

when two variables are linked, but it’s unclear which one causes the other

Third variable problem

a variable that isn’t the IV or DV and affects BOTH the other 2 variables

Illusory correlation

when it seems like two variables are related, but they really aren’t, or the relationship is exaggerated

experiment

a study where researchers change one variable (independent) to see its effect on another (dependent) under controlled conditions, allowing them to test cause-and-effect relationships

experimental group

he group in a study that receives the treatment or manipulation being tested, so their results can be compared to a control group

control group

the group in a study that doesn’t receive the new treatment, so researchers can compare their results to the experimental group

Confederate

a person who acts like a participant in an experiment but is actually working with the researcher and follows a set plan

Random assignment

when participants are placed into different experimental groups by chance, so each person has an equal chance of being in any group. This helps make groups comparable

Double-blind procedure (vs. single-blind)

Double-blind procedure is when neither the participants nor the experimenters know who is in the experimental or control group. This prevents bias.

For comparison: Single-blind is when only the participants are unaware of their group.

Placebo effect

when people experience real improvements after receiving a fake or inactive treatment, simply because they expect it to help

Independent variable

variable that is manipulated

Confounding variable

an outside factor that affects both the independent and dependent variables, making it hard to know what is actually causing the effect

Dependent variable

what variable is measured

Validity

how well a test or study actually measures or shows what it is supposed to

Descriptive statistics

methods for summarizing and showing the main features of a set of data, like averages, spread, and graphs, without making conclusions about a larger population

Histogram 

a graph that shows continuous data using connected bars, where the height of each bar shows how often each value occurs

Mean

the average of a set of numbers, found by adding all the scores and dividing by how many scores there are

median

the middle value in a set of numbers, with half the scores above and half below

mode

the number or value that appears most often in a set of data.

Normal curve (distribution)

a symmetrical, bell-shaped graph of data where most values are near the middle and fewer occur at the extremes

Bimodal distribution

a data set with two values or ranges that appear most often, creating two peaks in a graph

Skewed distributions: positive skew

when a distribution has a long tail on the right side, meaning most values are low but a few are very high

Skewed distributions: negative skew

when a distribution has a long tail on the left side, meaning most values are high but a few are very low

Range

a measure of how spread out a set of data is, calculated by subtracting the lowest value from the highest value

standard deviation

a measure of how spread out scores are around the average. Small values mean the scores are close to the mean, and large values mean they are more spread out

Inferential statistics

methods that use data from a sample to make general conclusions about a larger population, while estimating the chance of errors

Statistical significance 

how likely it is that a study’s results are real and not just due to chance, usually shown by a p-value

Effect size

a measure of how strong or meaningful the relationship is between two variables, showing the practical impact of the results

Peer review

when experts in a field evaluate someone’s research or work to check its quality before it is published

Informed consent

when someone agrees to take part in a study or procedure after fully understanding what it involves, its risks and benefits, and knowing they can refuse or stop at any time

Informed assent

when a minor or someone unable to give full legal consent agrees to participate in a study after being given age-appropriate or understandable information about it.

Debriefing 

when researchers explain the full details of a study to participants after it’s over, especially things they couldn’t explain beforehand

Confidentiality

keeping a patient’s or research participant’s information private and not sharing it without permission

Anonymity

keeping a participant’s identity unknown so that their information cannot be linked back to them

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

a committee that checks research studies to make sure they are ethical and keep participants safe

Wilhelm Wundt

founded first psychology lab (Germany) - “father of psychology” - his work influenced structarlism - emphasized introspection

G. Stanley Hall

the first to get a US psychology pHD - founded first US psych lab - founded APA (American Psycholgical association) - ocused on child & adolescent development and brought Freud into the US

William James

functionalism (how mental processes help us adapt, survive, and flourish) - criticized structuralism - influenced Darwins evolutionary theory - wrote principles of philosophy